He's an ass-kisser to the stars--political in his case.

I wonder if in all his years of asking Tough and Serious Questions of Mr. Straight Talk Maverick, King has ever asked him about his involvement in the coverup of the Abramoff scandal? I've been following Dengre's well-research and quite damning series over at DKos and it's absolutely devastating. The man absolutely oozes with corruption and is about as ethical as a Sopranos character. But I suspect that King has never seriously questioned him about this, or even knows about it. Such is the sorry state of corporate news these days that genuine, serious investigative journalism is seen as so passe and BORING. I mean, PLEASE, who even CARES?!?

Now, what did you say you favorite color was again? Will Cindy be joining us soon? She's SO sweet. And how IS your lovely (Mormon-hating) mother?

Notice that John King's idea of a "tough question" is to ask a presidential candidate "about the time he cheated on his sixth grade math test."

It begins to make Tim Russert's empty-headed inanity understandable.

Glenn, the tone of his response reveals that you've scored a hit. If he were confident in his work and approach, he wouldn't be either defensive or insulting, he would just tell you you're wrong and why. But he obviously feels some unconscious uncertainty, or he wouldn't need to diss you and your column.

Now, as to the substance of his reply. I reviewed for years (Detroit Free Press, Washington post et al.) and if I got something wrong in a review or just pulled my punches, I couldn't say, "Well, you have to look at it in the context of what else the paper reviewed that day" or "You should check out other reviews I did on that author" or even "Well, the editor cut the review badly." Now some or all of that may be true, but none of it matters. The review, and the interview has to stand by itself.

I think Mr. King could be overcompensating for having what might be called a strikingly odd appearance, an oversized nose and two very dissimilarly focused eyes. When he appears as a newsreader on CNN I can never tell what he’s looking at unless he turns his head to one side.

“If you cant throw out your chin suck in that nose” Col. Potter to Corporal Klinger on MASH.

King demonstrates his boneheada fides as a serious, thoughtful, corporate media hireling-in-the-know by declaring, for openers, that:

"I don't read biased uninformed drivel so I'm a little late to the game."

What this means, apparently, is that King's friend told him some blogger (shudder) had written an unflattering piece about him, and since it was a blogger, (yechh), it follows for King that whatever the blogger wrote had to be, like, you know, "biased uninformed drivel."

Glenn, if you're ever going to earn the respect of the Heavy Hitters on the Journalistic Short Bus, you'll have to learn to

write uninformed drivel.

I have a Retail ad in front of me that has the same photo to help sell Ultimate Pro-biotic Formula Audiophile's Bio-Flora. Yep?

On the advertisement campaign to push microencapsulated active 2-Billion cultures! Yes. It's a money back guarantee. Yikes.

For intestinal fresh bow-ells that promote relaxing bowel movement, and also assist the economy, you too, Jim White,

and Salon readers can have intestinal health! No worry.

For 60-Tabs that are legal...there is no fear of doing mealtime?

Acidophilus supports a favorable inner-condition for the absorption of nutrients, encouraging quiet sitting time on a commode throne, if outside in a outhouse. It's guaranteed to cause highly functioning neoconservative mind-sets for future interviews.

Who wants to sound a noxious 'heft' sound into a public microphone? Not me. Do you Jim? Well, realize. relaxation?

P.S. Call a lawyer or a doctor if that noxious gross noise persist. I no constipation you.

The photo a the top of the post is just too much. It made me think about what King's childhood photos must look like. Here's what first came to mind:

http://gardenofpraise.com/art39.htm

In fairness, King must have been furious-- just furious-- at his editor all along for hanging him out to dry like that. No wonder he lashed out. It's been a rough few days for him.

How about asking McCain . . .

about his claim that he strolled casually through a Baghdad market last year and then tried to sell that stroll as proof of "progress"- only to have it revealed that he was escourted by a full company of soldiers (100 men) in full body armor- through a market that had been cleared of all people save for Potemkin Iraqi quislings pretending to be customers and with three helicopter gunships overhead?

How about asking him if it is important to find out who was behind the Niger Memo? And what should be done to those responsible if it were revealed they were Americans and government employees?

How about asking him about his "Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran" song and dance routine in response to a question from a yahoo who asked when Tehran was going to be turned into glass?

How about asking him if only the United States has the right to attack nations pre-emptively or does the US now recognize this to be a general right of all nations and if not how such hypocrisy if viewed by the rest of the world?

How about asking him about his public stance of being against torture while enabling this regime's torture legalization effort behind the scenes?

I could go on and on and on. But instead we get questions like "Why do you think Americans love you so much?" Or "Does it get frustrating that people don't know how awesome you are?"

Glenn,

Your take on this is almost entirely right. I am a one-time newspaper reporter who is appalled by the state of "journamalism."

However, it *would* have been a good thing to contact John King and ask him wtf. He might have answered, "My editors, man, they butchered my piece." Or, "Check out this other excerpt from the same interview which will air on Thursday at 9 pm."

Or he might have given the same obtuse, sanctimonious, self-damning kind of response he did give.

But at least you would have asked, which is only fair.

Otherwise, you nailed it, and him, of course.